On September 7, the family estate of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj in Zazdrist, Ternopil region, hosted a solemn commemoration called The Way to Immortality. 35 years ago, on September 7, 1984, in Rome, the Servant of God, Josyf Slipyj, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, passed to eternity.
On September 7, the family estate of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj in Zazdrist, Ternopil region, hosted a solemn commemoration called The Way to Immortality. 35 years ago, on September 7, 1984, in Rome, the Servant of God, Josyf Slipyj, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, passed to eternity.
The event was organized on the initiative of the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, Inc., the USA with the support of its Representative Office in Ukraine.
The funeral service for the soul of the Confessor of Faith was performed by the President of the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics in Rome, Fr Marko Yaroslav Semegen, assisted by the rector of Josyf Slipyj Ternopil Higher Theological Seminary Fr. Ivan Rymar. Cadets of Odesa Navy Lyceum stood on honor guard at the bust of the Patriarch under the guidance of the Lyceum deputy dean for academic affairs, Captain 2nd rank Serhiy Plekhun.
The solemn program, which was conducted by the head of mission of the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics, in Ukraine, Danuta Ivankovych, was opened with the greetings from the president of the Association in Rome, Fr Marc Semegen and its president in Belgium, Peter Firman, Chief of Department for Protection of Cultural Heritage, Religions and Nationalities of Ternopil Regional State Administration, Ihor Kulchytsky and Captain Serhiy Plekhun.
Following the greetings from the presidents of the Association in Rome and Belgium, the regional authorities arranged the screening of the documentary "His Beatitude," which was presented by film director Olena Moshynska and producer Pavlo Kazantsev. The movie is the sequel of the first film "Case of "Reefs", which was released in 2017 on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Josyf Slipyj's birthday anniversary. The second part covers the period of his life and service in the "free world", namely from the time of his release from Siberian captivity in 1963 to his death in 1984. The first film tells about the repressions and forced liquidation of the UGCC by the Soviet regime, and then about 17 years of Patriarch Josyf's Siberian captivity.
The work on "His Beatitude" film lasted more than two years. During this time, unique videos and photos were collected, dozens of eyewitness interviews were recorded in different countries of the world. The film highlights three key themes in the Patriarch's ministry: the development of theological education, the restoration and development of Eastern monasticism, the making of the Patriarchate.
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of Patriarch Josyf's passing into eternity, a Ukrainian translation of the novel "The Shoes of the Fisherman" written by the world-famous Australian writer Morris Langlo West was published. The book was presented in the Patriarch's homeland by interpreter Iryna Ivankovych and Mykhailo Perun, the director of the publishing house "ARTOS". As previously stated, the life feat Confessor of Faith Patriarch Josyf Slipyj was a prototype of the book's main character Kirill Lakota. To date, “The Shoes of the Fisherman” have been translated into Italian, Spanish, German, Polish and other languages.
An artistic decoration of the event was the first night of the aria "Memory" with the lyrics by Irina Ivankovich and the music score by composer Vasyl Pylypchak, which was performed by artists of the Ternopil Regional State Philharmonic society: the academic chamber choir "Brevis" (conductor – the honored artist of Ukraine, Svyatoslav Dunets), soloist and Laureate of all-Ukrainian and international contests Volodymyr Shagai and the chamber orchestra under the direction of principal conductor Kyryl Semenchenko.
At the end of the program, reaching out to numerous admirers of Patriarch Josyf Slipyj’s personality, who came to Zazdrist, the head of St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics in USA, Iryna Ivankovych expressed confidence that “It is with joy and gratitude that Josyf Slipyj looks down at his family's house, which he loved infinitely until his last breath. May these celebrations be a small crown of glory on his coffin and a prayer of gratitude from the descendants, for whose freedom Patriarch Josyf tirelessly fought,” the press service of the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics in USA reports.